Feds to the rescue

And the handshake of the week goes to Ian Morten, the Federated Farmers Grain and Seed Chairperson for his and the Feds concerted and continued effort to squash PKE imports.

Farmgirl has already voiced her opinions on PKE and how it continues to undermine arable farmers' bottom lines, as well as present a significant risk to all of our industries.

Ian's call this week to report any foreign matter in PKE reminds us all of how ridiculous the entire situation is. The Feds have received 'anecdotal evidence' of insects, soil etc being present in the mix, although MAFBNZ claim there hasn't been any substantial risks so far...

Why are we waiting at the bottom of the cliff with our arms wide open rather than blocking the fall?

It seems simple. PKE presents a risk - get rid of it and support our local cockies instead of their overseas counterparts.

Farmers tired of hearing the same old speel from the top

Farmgirl was more than a little dismissive of David Carter's speech to the Federated Farmers conference this week.

He told us to, "adopt new ideas, abandon old ways of thinking and embrace different farming methods"...blah, blah, blah.

This sentence has been trotted out by every agricultural minister since butter was churned by hand. It means nothing and it's not helpful.

When will Carter and his fellow ministers realise that this kind of talk is nothing but condescending as it suggests today's farmers are slow on the uptake and are not looking towards the future.

Farmgirl suggests it's not farmers who need to embrace different methods but more the companies that represent them and the politicians who continue to impede progress by whacking on costs at the farm gate year in, year out with thinly veiled bureaucracy - Kyoto being one such example.

Mr Carter and others that repeat these meaningless phrases (Anderton was equally as good at that - his tongue could roll off thousands of them in a week) regarding the need for farmers to adopt new ideas would do well to visit the Young Farmer Contest in Palmerston North today and talk to this latest generation of farmers. Farmgirl thinks they would teach him a thing or two.

Federated Farmers versus Sex Pistol rocker

Who would have thought it gov? Johnny Rotten, the teeth gnashing, spitting, torn punk rocker who hailed anarchy in the UK has a softer side - in fact the gnarled grizzled face Sex Pistol front man likes his butter - British only apparently.

It's a bit of a comedown for his fans though ain't it? God save the Queen and her fascist regime has now become God save our cows and the products of their bowels.

You see Rotten has become the face of a new British butter advertising campaign that extols the virtue of butter made from only British milk - not like that Kiwi stuff, he reckons.

But he didn't count on Federated Farmers Dairy Vice President Willy Leferink wading into battle.

According to Farmers Weekly UK Leferink has invited Rotten see for himself the way cows are kept down under.

“Never mind the butter, it’s the quality of the milk what counts,” Willy says. “While all milk may contain the same basic properties, Kiwi cows are in a league of their own.
“Grazing outdoors on GM-free grass and natural winter feed makes for happy cows and fantastic-quality milk.”
European Union tariffs were the only barriers holding back sales of New Zealand’s Anchor butter in the UK, he said.
“While I’d like to think of dairy farmers as being the rock stars of the New Zealand economy, I’d be pleased to host that old punk rocker, John Lydon, on my farm.
“Perhaps Mr Lydon could use some of the money he got paid for endorsing the British brand to pay for his flight down under.”
Only hand-crafted but expensive British butter matched New Zealand butter for quality, Mr Leferink claimed.
“New Zealand’s climate and quality pasture means we are in an agricultural sweet spot. British consumers literally taste freedom when they eat New Zealand butter.”
Dairy Crest’s butter advertising campaign featuring Mr Lydon sent sales of English Country Life soaring when it aired on TV screens across Britain.
The commercial reminded shoppers that the butter was made with 100% British milk unlike other brands from New Zealand and Denmark.
It was being supported by a website encouraging people to sign a pledge that they were "proud to buy British".

You can watch one of the ads here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7mSE-Iy_tFY

Banks need to stop shafting farmers

Good on Federated Farmers president Don Nicolson for speaking out about the banks' appallingly high interest rates.

Farmers will have been sickened by the cuts offered to small home owners and other businesses while their own banks have made little to no significant cuts to their overdraft and mortgage rates.

The irony being that economists are lauding the potential of economic recovery coming from the rural hinterlands as they hope we expand and grow our operations. This is all good news for the banks so you would think they would move quickly to invigorate more growth - alas this has not been the case.

And what has been the reason for their sloth like grasp of interest rates? None other than greed. Shifting banks is a complicated exercise and one many farmers are loath to take on but you have to ask yourself if this wouldn't change if there was more competition in the market and if farmers were more willing to vote with their feet.

For too long the banking sector has been complacent about its rural clientele - yet relying on the sector to prop up its bottom line.

But as Nicolson suggests, enough is enough, and even the most loyal of clients will prove fickle if their bottom line is compromised by the inadequacy of their bankers.

India free trade negotiations a ray of hope for agriculture

Forget the recession - the Government's announcement of a possible free trade deal with India over the weekend was the best news to hit our livestock industry in 18 months.

India has a growing middle class, with money in pockets, and this bodes well for our lamb markets.

Okay, so negotiations are expected to take a number of years but it all looks hopeful and in these current conditions the fact that we are opening talks with the world's second largest nation is a huge coup for the Government.

Currently we export very little agricultural products as there are high tariffs on sheep meat. Even so we export $360 million each year, and import $284 million in return. Coke, coal, logs and wool are our main exports into the country.

Think then what free access to India's growing rich could mean and as Federated Farmers president Don Nicolson commented, "sheep meat is widely consumed and unaffected by religious dietary requirements where meat is consumed."

Might be time to buy in that breeding stock again and celebrate the positivity of this move.

Here's to free trade and lamb curries!

Farm prices immune to recession?

Federated Farmers Meat and Fibre chairman Bruce Wills has publicly stated he thinks farm prices could tumble by up to 30 % - a statement I'm not so sure is correct for some parts of the country.

Last year in Mid Canterbury farm values reached a record high when an irrigated farm was sold to process vegetable growers for $20 000 an acre. Prior to that farms in the area had been hovering between the $16 ooo to $18 000 mark.

Since then it has been hard to get a handle on values as farm sales in the area have come to a virtual halt. However, the law of supply and demand still stands and sectors such as the process vegetable community have held up in current economic conditions and although the dairying pay-out has decreased from $7.90 to $5.10 a kilogram the fundamentals are much the same.

Recession talk breeds more recession but in the case of some sectors of the farming community it is pretty much business as usual, and if you are a corporate farmer the ability to spread your risk can outweigh the current negative talk.

If you add to that the welcome drop in interest rates you could probably succeed in arguing that now is a good time to buy land, if it comes available - and I'm sure many of these farmers will take that opportunity should it come, hence the market may sustain its high.

Areas such as Northland may be vastly different of course but Canterbury and Southland (which is already showing signs of bucking the trend) are well placed to survive the recession panic.

Farmers are right to hold on to their land at present, it only adds to the competition when it does come available, and in these areas they should not succumb to the depressed spin coming out of the media.

Supply and demand - a fundamental that doesn't change.

A little Valentine tomfoolery...

The ox 'Heart', having a heart-shaped marking on his forehead, relaxes at Yamakun Farm on February 12, 2009 in Yokohama, Japan. Born in the year of the ox and ahead of Valentine's Day, the ox has drawn attention from around the country.





Here's some advice for you farmer boys out there on how to woo your filly on Valentines day, or as may-be the case, how to keep your filly happy.

1 Taking your lovely lady out to the canola paddock, then proclaiming "Look sweetheart, I drilled you an entire paddock of flowers," wears a bit thin after a few years.

2 Suggesting you have a slap-up romantic meal at home is all very fine, until you come in from the farm and sit at the table waiting for the above-mentioned meal...knife and fork in hand.

3 The cardinal rule for gift buying is to buy only one of three things for your lady, jewellery, perfume or flowers...do not stray from this course...lingerie with more holes than cloth that is three sizes too small is not a gift for her.

4 If you are going to make the great romantic gesture I suggest a picnic in a paddock, McLeod's Daughters style but remember, attention to food is all important. A bag of salt and vinegar potato chips and a beer is not really romantic fare. Go for your back pocket, drag out the dusty notes and buy a quality bottle of bubbles, soft cheese (cheese slices are not acceptable), antipasto and if you're lost by this stage, ask your mother for some help. Also, remember to move any obstructions prior to entering the paddock - a bull may impede your progress somewhat.

5 And lastly, be sure to compliment her during the day, repetitively, but check what you say within yourself first. "You look like you've lost weight," suggests that she was fatter at some stage, or "If you were a ewe you'd have all the rams chasing you," might very well be true but not entirely appropriate. Try to channel the Mark Darcy in you - in other words, don't say too much, but make sure what you do say is well thought out.

Free trade a fantasy

It's a lovely ideal - one of those grand old stories you tell your grandchildren about in front of the fire, when you sit them down and tell them about the time when we came close to having a free trade deal with America and other nations - when our lamb meat came so close to going into European countries without having costs added on to keep us out.

Aaaah yes...didn't we come so close? Or were we kidding ourselves - high on a fantasy, climbing a peak that crumbles from under our feet and sends us toppling off balance as soon as the first puff of wind comes along?

The recession has world leaders scrambling to protect their constituents in any way they can, hence the resurgence of protectionism. No Government is going to let its people suffer and jeopardise future elections by promising to let more trade in at this critical time.

Time magazine said world leaders have divided loyalties.

"On the one hand they know that international co-ordination is vital if the global economy is to be gotten back on track. On the other hand, they are politically responsible to their domestic constituencies, not international ones. And in tough times, those constituencies do not like their politicians appearing to favour foreigners."

Worryingly, British PM and avid free trade supporter Gordon Brown told the World Economic Forum that financial protectionism was a far more significant problem than trade protectionism at this time - think of all the American money being poured into projects at home with none going out the door to keep the global economy going. It's like an impenetrable fence where no money, and no products can be passed in. They exist by themselves, within themselves and for an isolated country like New Zealand that depends, no survives on outside money that is a serious problem if it spreads, which could make our recession far more painful and ultimately longer than these other countries.

So who is right - us or them?

If you're an American I'm betting you're applauding the decision to shut up shop and move the money domestically rather than globally- and understandably so - but if you are a farmer here in New Zealand it is a far different feeling.

Unfortunately free trade is only ever going to be an ideal we sometimes get a little closer too, but an ideal that falls away as quickly as those scurrilous Wall Street bankers when an economic recession hits.

It is after all in people's natures to protect their own.

The English Connection

The old adage that 'farmers do well under a National led government' has not always been true.

However, this could turnaround in light of the English connection.

Bill English, of course, is of pure Southland farming stock - Dipton in fact, but ironically it's his brother that may well shake the National party up and hold them to their rural values.

Federated Farmers CEO Conor English is a feisty agricultural advocate and is already making a significant impact, not only on the lobby group itself, but on national issues affecting all New Zealanders (Aucklanders).

It was distinctly refreshing to see the man in action recently, stomping his feet about the $1.9 billion 5km motorway proposed for Auckland. Fair go, he said, how about thinking about water storage for the agricultural industry and the jobs that might create. (Okay, so I paraphrase a little).

He certainly got up John Bank's nose (an impressive feat considering the size) and you could hear the whooping through-out the rural hinterland as farmers rejoiced at having someone 'take it to em city-ites once more'.

Farmers have had to endure possibly the worst year of criticism from urban-ites in New Zealand's history. The contempt for agriculture by those ignorant to how the industry operates and what it means for the economy has been palpable and dangerously contagious.

Here then is a way of gaining some ground at what best can be described as a 'difficult economic time'. Creating jobs and furthering agriculture is a win-win situation.

And herein lies the fascinating fight. Bill English happens to be the Infrastructure minister and Conor is the farmer's friend. Will Bill concede this one and finally put water storage high on the Government priority list.

The power each of them holds may yet deliver National as the Government that farmers 'do well' by - and if that is the case, you can thank those English genes.